NPR Story

3:57 am

Mon December 3, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Well, the subject of our last word in business today may not change the world, but it is kind of snazzy. It is called the Air Umbrella. Now, picture an umbrella handle and nothing else, sort of like a wand.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Yeah. We are entering a magic world, here. That wand apparently keeps you dry by releasing a shield of air. The tech website Mashable says it's still a design concept, but in theory, you could adjust the power and size of your invisible air shield depending on how heavily it's raining.

GREENE: And turns out, this idea is just a drop in the bucket.

MONTAGNE: Ooh.

GREENE: Where are the pun police? Designers and inventors have come up with all kinds of umbrella innovations - umbrellas with LED handles that tell you whether it will rain...

And hands-free umbrellas that look like big, clear-plastic beach balls. There's even a design out there for karaoke umbrella - which, by the way David, I hear you might be interested in that one especially.

Maybe just a little bit. I like karaoke. And you know what? Karaoke umbrellas, here's an idea, Renee.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SINGING IN THE RAIN")

GENE KELLY: (Singing) I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a...